


Those Far Away Lights

by RStar6709



Series: The CoF Tangled Au [1]
Category: Crown of Feathers Series - Nicki Pau Preto
Genre: Adventure, Angst, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Tangled AU, The ships here are short scenes and implied, see the original posts on tumblr, there's lots of changes though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-18 16:35:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28870149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RStar6709/pseuds/RStar6709
Summary: Tristan has spent his entire 18 years of his life in a tower. The only person he would ever see was his guardian, Rolan.One day a thief named Sev finds him, and together they go out to see the floating lanterns. Unfortunately though, he's being chased by two guards, Veronyka and Kade.But that didn't matter, all he cared about was seeing those lanterns.
Relationships: Kade & Veronyka Ashfire, Kade/Sevro Lastlight, Sevro Lastlight & Tristan Flamesong, Tristan Flamesong/Veronyka Ashfire
Series: The CoF Tangled Au [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2117202
Comments: 4
Kudos: 3





	Those Far Away Lights

**Author's Note:**

> Ooh, another CoF fic! So, this au started as Bori came into my inbox on Tumblr and suggested this. So really, the au idea belongs to her (@subrosasteath). But I did work some of my own ideas into it. I do in fact have her permission.
> 
> Here's what you need to know. Tristan is Rapunzel, Sev is Flynn (but not the love interest). The two guards, Veronyka and Kade are their respective love interests. Lord Rolan is Mother Gothel, so yes, Cassian and Olanna are the rulers. Rex is Pascal and Xephyra is Maximus.
> 
> Im not gonna write the entire au (probably not, at least). So I'm just gonna separate each scene as its own mini fic, and slap them all together as a series. Also because they're prolly not gonna be in order, so yeah. But this fic here does focus on the beginning.
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!

Tristan dreamed of life outside. It never used to happen at first, he used to be content living up in the tower. He had his father Rolan to keep him company. But as he grew older, Rolan would start showing his more angry side. It made him wonder why he was even here in the first place.

"Lord Rolan." That was another thing. He always wanted to be addressed by _Lord_ Rolan. What did Lord even mean? "I know that I'm not strong enough-"

"I already told you," Rolan interrupted. "You're weak and you can't survive the horrors outside."

"But just once... you could take me... you could protect me," Tristan insisted.

"If I brought you out with me, you'd only hold me back. I'm _not_ bringing you out to see those... stars."

•~•~•~•~•~•

"Rex, what do I do?" Tristan murmured, staring out of the window. "I'm sure I could do a lot. I can clean and I know how to move around. Why won't he let me join him? He could teach me how to fight, I'm willing to learn!"

All Rex did was squawk. Rex was a small bird, around the size of his head. He was red and gold and had a surprisingly large wingspan.

It was nice that he had Rex with him. Even though he didn't actually do too much, he always showed Tristan support, and was always there to listen to him. Rex could have flown away whenever he chose, but still, all these years, he had chosen to stay by Tristan's side.

"Tristan!" Rolan called out. "Let down your hair!"

"Hide, Rex," he whispered.

He didn't need to say it, it was a routine at this point. One time, Rolan had found Rex and had been angry. That was all it took for Tristan to know that he had to he more careful.

" _There's a feather in here. Tristan, who_ _was_ _in here?"_ Rolan had asked.

 _"No one was in here."_ He'd answered. _"A bird_ _flew_ _in here."_

 _"Well get the bird_ out! _I_ _don't_ _want_ _to_ _see another animal in here!"_

Tristan went over and let his hair down. His father climbed up, then scanned the tower. Deeming it proper, he kept quiet and looked over a paper.

•~•~•~•~•~•

It was Tristan's eighteenth birthday, and he was just so impatient. He desperately wanted to go outside, just _see_ what those floating lights were. To see why they always came out on his birthday.

He didn't even dare ask Rolan to go outside again. Even the thought was terrifying. Then Rolan left for one of his trips again, but promised that he'd be back in a day or two, and would bring some gifts.

So Tristan looked outside, and looked down at the grass. At that moment, it didn't seem too far away.

"Hey Rex, could I possibly do this by myself? Could I go really quickly and see and get home before he comes back?"

The squawk he received as a reply was approving, but told him to think it through. That was true. What if he got lost and didn't make it back to the tower in time? What if Rolan came back early? What if he was attacked?

Suddenly, the grass below seemed so far away. He turned away with a sigh, and moved to go look at one of his paintings.

"Maybe I'll try next year."

He slumped down on his bed, only to spring back up when he heard a noise. Was Rolan back already?

Tristan waited a few moments, where he would he called to let down his hair. But instead, that weird sound- like something hitting a rock- repeated, growing louder.

"Rex," he whispered, as he grabbed the nearest heavy object to him, which was a frying pan.

He stood off to the side as Rex looked over the ledge. A nod confirmed his suspicions. A person. He waited for the person to come up and enter the tower, before he swung.

It was only after the person was slumped on the floor that he realized what he had just done.

_I just knocked someone out!_

He didn't know how long they would stay unconscious for, so he quickly got to work on taking away the bag and hiding it away. Then he used his hair to tie up the person.

On closer inspection, they didn't look like what he'd expected. He expected someone large and muscular, and overall intimidating. But the person in front him was short and relatively thin, with a more gentle face. Not the scary person he'd been expecting. Then again, he knew that there was more to this person, after all, they had managed to scale the tower.

A soft groan came from the person, and they opened their eyes. Panicking, Tristan hit them again.

•~•~•~•~•~•

He didn't realize it before, but the stranger had been carrying a bag with them. He opened it, and some weird shiny object was inside. He held it, and it was sort of round, and there were lots of gems on it. What was it though? He tried putting it on different parts of him, but it didn't look quite right. He set it on his head, and it had fit quite nicely-

Rex squawked, then pointed a wing towards the stranger. Tristan shoved the object back into the bag and gave it to Rex.

"Hide it!" Rex flew towards the top of the tower with the satchel.

This time, when the stranger woke, Tristan was fully prepared. He watched as they opened their eyes, and realized the state they were in. He felt a tug at his hair as the person tried to break the material tying them down. But it wasn't going to work.

And if he were to be honest, he was a little smug at the sight.

_As long as I stay aware_ _of_ _everything, I could handle myself._

"There's no point in struggling," he stated. "You won't escape."

"Is this hair? Is this your hair?" The stranger asked, once again trying to free himself.

"I said, there's no point in struggling," Tristan repeated, stepping into view of the stranger.

The stranger looked at him, taking in his appearance. Then looked at the frying pan that he was still holding.

The stranger grinned. "Hey, I'm Sev." Sev raised their eyebrows in some weird way. "How are you doing?" Then Sev winked.

_What is happening?_

"Why are you here? Who told you about this place?" Tristan asked, taking another step forward.

"I'm just trying to hide?" Sev answered. "Found this place on my own."

"And you're not here for me?"

Sev narrowed their eyes, then laughed. "Look, you're cute, but for Axura's sake, I have no idea who you are!"

"... you don't?"

"No, I don't. You could start by telling me."

_Is this some kind of trick?_

"Look, uh..."

"Tristan," he supplied.

"Tristan. I don't know what is going on, but I was just hiding from some people who were after me and ended up here. Nobody else knows about this place, otherwise they would have climbed up this tower after me. Okay? I have no interest in you, especially since you look so young."

_Young!?_

"I'm turning eighteen tomorrow."

Sev shrugged, the movements a little stiff. "Yeah, a child."

Tristan glared at them, and held the pan a little tighter in his hand. "This... _child_ currently has you tied up. Your point?"

Sev sighed. "I guess. But I am telling the truth about what I said... and..." their head turned quickly, eyes scanning the room. "What did you do with my satchel?"

Tristan smirked. "I've hidden it. And you won't be able to find it."

Sev looked around, their gaze fixated on Rex. "You have it to the bird, and the bird hid it at the top of tower, didn't it?"

Out of panic, Tristan swung the frying pan again.

 _How did he_ _manage_ _to_ _guess that!?_

_•~•~•~•~•~•_

Okay, this was the third time. Hopefully that would work out better. Rex nipped at Sev's hair until they woke up.

"What the-" they cut themselves off. "Look, let me out of this hair. I don't like being trapped in this. I'll leave you alone, if that's what you want."

Sev sounded genuine, but were they actually genuine?

_If he was able to climb the tower without my hair... maybe he could help me?_

Rex seemed to have read his mind, as he flew in front of them. He flapped his wings and narrowed his eyes, and Sev visibly flinched. Hit then Rex came back to Tristan, and made some sounds.

"Yeah, I think he is telling the truth. And I think he could take me to see the lights."

When there was no objection from Rex, Tristan knew what to do.

"Okay Sev," he began. "I ready to offer a deal."

They sighed. "A deal?"

Tristan moved towards the curtain with his painting of the lights. "Do you know what these are?"

"Those are the lanterns the kingdom lights for the Prince," they explained.

"Lanterns..." he mumbled. Then he his voice returned to normal. "They're going to be lit tomorrow night. What I want is for you to take me to see the lanterns and bring me back home safely. And _then_ , I'll give you back your satchel."

Well, maybe not the bring back home part. But... Rolan was the only family he had. He didn't want to abandon him. But... if the outside world wasn't as cruel as Rolan had said... then maybe it would be better than being in here.

"Look Tristan, I'm on the run. The kingdom doesn't like me, and those two guards keep finding me! So no. I won't take you anywhere."

Really? Was Sev going to be like this?

He pulled his hair to drag Sev towards him. "Something brought you here. Fate, destiny-"

"A horse," they cut in with a roll of their eyes.

"And I'm choosing to trust you-"

"A horrible decision, really."

"And you can _trust_ me when I say you'll _never_ find your satchel without my help. You can tear down this tower, you can look around the area, but only I will be able to give you back your satchel."

A pause. "Promise?"

He put his hands to his hips. "Yeah, promise."

Sev sighed- again?- then pursed their lips. "Didn't want to do those, but I'll have to now."

With that, their eyes narrowed and eyebrows shifted. Their mouth puckered a little bit.

"Uh... you look stupid."

Sev cursed. "You aren't charmed by guys, are you?"

"You're like the second person I've ever seen, and I'm still recovering from the fact that you don't have fangs."

"Okay then. Fine, I'll take you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Now let me out!"

•~•~•~•~•~•

Tristan looked down from the tower ledge. It looked so far down, but if Sev and Rolan could scale it, so could Tristan. Slowly, he went down the tower, passing by Sev who stared at him.

"You could have told me that your hair could do that, instead of leaving me to do this," they complained.

"Doesn't matter, now hurry up!"

As he waited for Sev to come down, he tried to get used to the feeling of being outside. The grass was softer than it looked and it tickled his feet. The sunlight was warm, and the slight breeze was soothing. It felt nice.

"Let's get this over with," Sev said.

•~•~•~•~•~•

"So Tristan," Sev began. "What are your pronouns?"

"He and him," he answered. "You?"

"Same thing. Also, why were there guards after you?"

Sev laughed, before waving his hand casually. "Uh, we can discuss that later. But the goal is to stay hidden-"

"Kade, I found Sev!" A higher pitched voice yelled, and suddenly there was rumbling against the ground.

"Okay, we gotta run!" Sev said, grabbing his hand as they began running.

But then rumbling grew closer, and there was a large gap where they were trying to go.

Tristan turned around to see what was chasing them. There were two horses, one person on top of each. The first was a dark haired, muscular person with broad shoulders, and looked in between the ages of him and Sev. Their face was in a scowl.

The other person was a lot shorter and more frail, but definitely looked stronger than Tristan, and maybe even Sev. This person had black hair that was cut to their neck, and their brown eyes shone with determination. They opened their mouth to speak, until their gaze landed on Tristan.

The other person groaned. "Just give up Sev."

"That wouldn't be fun for either of us, would it, Kade?" Sev asked with a wink.

Kade's scowl only deepened. "You shouldn't drag anyone else into this. That looks like an innocent child."

"I'm _not_ an innocent child and I'm here of my own free will!" Tristan said, then pointed the frying pan at them.

The one with the wide eyes looked even more shocked, then their jaw clenched as they hopped off the horse.

"So you know that Sev here is a thief? And he's wanted because he stole something from our kingdom? You won't have to be involved, but if you do, we'll be after you too."

Tristan blinked and looked at Sev. He hoped his expression would convey the _What is going on_? That he was thinking.

"I'll explain later. But we need to escape here, they won't be kind to us."

He nodded, then looked around, noting a large branch that was way above the gap. He swung his hair and grabbed Sev, telling him to hold on. Then they jumped and leapt to the other side.

"Next time warn me?" Sev asked.

"I hope there is no next time."

And then they continued to run.

•~•~•~•~•~•

They were sitting on some rocks, utterly exhausted.

"Explain? You're a thief?"

Sev shrugged, then gestured to a poster. "Yeah, that's me. But you've already agreed to this, it's too late to back down now."

Tristan tried to recall what he knew about thieves. They stole stuff and they were generally bad people and would hurt others.

"You're not going to hurt me, are you?"

Sev put his hands up. "No! I wouldn't do that! I'm a thief, I'm not cruel!"

Tristan sighed in relief. "Okay. Let's continue, they might not be much further behind."

They continued their journey towards the kingdom. The area around him kept changing, and there was so much distance between him and the tower. But... he was getting closer to the lights. They didn't seem so far away anymore.


End file.
